The Harbingerngr News

ALL over the civilised world (meaning countries ruled by universally acceptable laws) extra-judicial killings or mob justice is seriously frowned on and unacceptable. It portrays a system as one that is ineffective and unable to implement its laws and prevent or minimise the prevalence of outlaw killings. Most countries where mob killings are the norm rather than the exception are in a state of failure. Lynching of suspects of abhorrent crimes is rampant in Nigeria. From alleged thieves to suspected witches to those accused of “blasphemy” (which obtains in the Muslim North), mobs, whether spontaneous or organised, feel free to take the lives of fellow citizens at will without the slightest fear of consequences. The particular issue of “blasphemy” killings in the North is an issue that nobody appears willing to address with a view to bringing it under control. In May last year, Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Wamakko, Sokoto State, was lynched by a mob f...

THE Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that implementation of the proposed hike in electricity tariff by power distribution companies may force more multinational companies to relocate their factories outside Nigeria. President of MAN, Francis Meshioye, who gave the warning while speaking to newsmen, noted that some international manufacturing firms had already exited the country due to the harsh operating environment including power crisis, adding that any further hike in tariff would lead to an exodus of companies, and thus called on the government to reconsider the move. Recall that various public notices from some of the electricity distribution companies, DisCos, had stated that the electricity tariff would be raised by about 30 to 40 per cent for selected categories of consumers with effect from July 1, 2023. They have, however, backtracked on their earlier announcement of a tariff hike, stating that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had yet...

By Adekunle Adekoya THIS year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, devoid of the usual boisterous jollifications, was signposted by the message from opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in which it expressed dismay over policies of the ruling APC government, which it described as “anti-people.” The party, in a statement by Debo Ologunagba, its Publicity Secretary, said, inter alia: “Our Party is deeply worried by the worsening economic crisis, the astronomical increase in the cost of essential goods and services, the collapse of the purchasing power of citizens and scorching economic distress on millions of families across the country. “It is saddening that on an occasion like this, millions of Nigerians are observing the period in frustration as they cannot afford the basic necessities to celebrate with their loved ones. Many cannot express their affection by travelling to visit or even sharing with their family members and friends all because of hardship and insensitive polic...

FOUR persons have been injured, when a building collapsed, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This came as Governor Siminialayi Fubara of the state has ordered immediate investigation into the collapsed building. The two-storey building, said to be under construction on Okilton Drive, Ada George, Port Harcourt, yesterday caved in, leaving some of the workers on site trapped before rescuers rushed in.  Governor Fubara, represented by the Commissioner for Special Projects, Chukwuemeka Woke, after swift inspection, ordered urgent investigation into the incident.  He directed that “the Ministry of Urban Development is to take immediate site investigations, destructive and non-destructive tests on the collapsed structural element to establish their strength by determination of the yield strength of the reinforcements and sieve analysis of the soil at the site, to ascertain immediate and remote causes of the building collapse.  “If there is any compromise by those invol...

ELEVEN persons, yesterday, died while eight others sustained injuries in an accident on the Edo State section of the Benin-Lagos expressway, involving a Toyota Hiace 18-seater bus and a truck belonging to a popular cement company. The accident, it was gathered, happened about 11a.m., at the Ovia river, notorious for accidents, due to a failed section of the road and the bridge by the river.  It was gathered that a truck heading towards Benin from Lagos on top speed rammed into the bus that was said to have slowed down on the failed portion of the road after brushing the back side of a Kia vehicle, killing 11 persons on the spot and injuring several others.  An eye witness said: “The Toyota Hiace bus going to the East enroute Edo State slowed down at the bad portion of the Ovia river bridge but the truck that was on top speed rammed into the bus, killing the passengers.”  It was gathered that some of the occupants of the bus and victims were coming from Lagos after attendi...

By AZU ISHIEKWENE IT doesn’t make sense to weigh tragedies on a scale. How do you measure them? Leo Tolstoy got it right in Anna Karenina when he said whereas all happy families are alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. And so indeed it was on June 14 when it was reported that a boat carrying 750 migrants had capsized near Greece in the Mediterranean killing over 500 with dozens missing. It was one of the most horrific tragedies in recent times, claiming the lives of hundreds of migrants mostly from Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan and Palestine who put their lives in great danger in pursuit of the basic human instinct of looking for a better life. A world becoming tragically familiar with migrant misery barely had time to shake its head in pity once again when news broke that a submarine, The Titan, operated by a US-based company, OceanGate, had imploded in the depths killing all five tourists on an expedition to the debris of the Titanic. Two heart-wrenching trage...

ONLY three Nigerian universities, namely University of Ibadan (UI), University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Covenant University were ranked among the 1,000 universities in the world this year. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 ranked 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.  In the ranking, the University of Ibadan came top in Nigeria, followed by UNILAG and Covenant University.  The University of Ibadan is also the third best in Africa after University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and Aswan University in Egypt.  In the World University ranking released by the Times, University of Ibadan was ranked between 401 and 500 best universities in the world. UNILAG is also ranked between 401 and 500 best universities in the world but University of Ibadan was ranked ahead of UNILAG due to certain indices the Times Higher Education considered. Covenant University is ranked between ...

THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, yesterday alerted Nigerians on the circulation of  an “unwholesome” Sprite 50cl glass bottle drink with batch number AZ6 22:32. The agency, which announced this on its twitter handle, @NafdacAgency, said the contaminated glass bottle drink was manufactured April 18, 2023, with an expiry date of April 4, 2024. It said the product was discovered, following a consumer complaint, adding upon investigation, over five crates of the batch were discovered to be contaminated with particles. NAFDAC explained in a statement that the affected batch of the unwholesome product had been sampled for laboratory analysis in its laboratory. The agency said it had also directed all the agency’s zonal directors and state coordinators to carry out surveillance and mop up the implicated batch of the unwholesome product. The statement read:  “Similarly, a comprehensive current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) inspection of th...

•Commuters, motorists to face more agonising time AGAIN, the planned commissioning of Lagos-Ibadan expressway scheduled for today has failed for the third time. The implication of this, is that commuters, motorists and other road users who ply the dual carriageway will have to agonise longer as they go through excruciating pains caused by endless gridlock on the road on daily basis. It would be recalled that the immediate past Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering infrastructural projects to Nigerians, saying the Lagos-Ibadan expressway project would be delivered before December 25, 2022. Fashola stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts in delivering the dividends of democracy to Nigerians. Asked when the project would be completed, the former minister had said at the time: “The Federal Government plans to deliver the proj...

President Tinubu (r) and Oba Sikiru Adetona . PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has explained how he invoked the spirit of 'Emilokan’ to win February 25 Presidential election; adding that he did not allow the pangs of the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN affected his victory. President Tinubu, who stated this in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, said he was optimistic about achieving victory in the last presidential election, despite the ineffective cashless policy implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.  The President spoke in separate remarks at the palaces of the Paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, in Ijebu-Ode and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, in Abeokuta, during a thank-you visit to the Royal Fathers. Reflecting on the challenges in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, President Tinubu recounted his concerns about the confiscation of funds and the failure of the cashless policy and how he had previously sought wisdom and guida...

A mild drama occurred at a Family Magistrates’ Court sitting in Oke-Eda, Akure, Ondo State, when a 17-year-old apprentice, Sunday Emmanuel, arraigned for defiling a minor was ordered to be flogged in the courtroom by the trial magistrate. Magistrate Folashade Aduroja ordered that the apprentice be given some strokes of cane for committing such heinous crime against a three-year-old girl. Aduroja, thereafter, ordered the remand of the defendant at the Ondo State Juvenile Remand’s Home, pending the issuance of advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. Sunday, who was brought to court on a one count charge of having carnal knowledge of the child, allegedly raped the three-year-old daughter of his neighbour. The defendant allegedly committed the offence between 12a.m., and 4a.m., on June 24, 2023, at Otuntungunwa Street, Danjuma area in Akure metropolis. Police prosecutor, Martins Olowofeso,  informed the court that the defendant had carnal knowledge of the mi...

Suspected armed robbers have reportedly attacked several travellers stranded on the Benin-Akure highway and the Ipele/Idoani/Isua/Kabba highway both in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State. It was gathered from most of the travellers, who were reportedly robbed of their valuables, the robbers escaped on motorcycle through the bush paths. The chairman of Ose council, Dennis Adekunle, who confirmed the robbery attack, said he had written to the Ondo State government for urgent repair work on the road. According to Adekunle, “The quarry he approached for help declined because the Federal Road Maintenance Agency might sue it for interference.” The chairman said bandits have robbed many of the stranded travellers on the highway. Vanguard gathered that the continuous heavy rains have destroyed a section of the Benin-Akure highway at Molege/Elegbeka/Ifon axis and the Ipele/Idoani/Isua/Kabba highway. Motorists complained that they spend days at the failed portion of the road. Some motorists...

POLICE operatives from Ogidi Division, Anambra State, have arrested the Ojoto community vigilante commander and two others for the alleged kidnap and murder of a  tricycle operator,  Oluchukwu Onah. Onah, a 25-year-old commercial tricycle rider from Ovoko community, Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State,  but resided in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, was declared missing on May 28, 2023, when he failed to return after going out for the day’s business. It was gathered that his neighbour in Oba had raised the alarm over his whereabouts and subsequently reported to the police.    It was gathered that the owner of the tricycle (name withheld) said the missing Oluchukwu rode the tricycle under hire purchase agreement. He, however, engaged the services of a security tracker that eventually yielded positive result, leading to the arrest of a man in possession of the missing tricycle used by the deceased. He added that on furthe...

There is tension at MRS Oil Nigeria Plc office, Tin Can First Gate, Apapa, Lagos, over the whereabouts of eight of its employees, who were kidnapped on June 26, 2023, at the Lagos Island backwater. Vanguard gathered that the abducted employees, the Managing Director and seven others, were in a boat heading towards Lekki area. Apprehension, however, set in when the boat they boarded was  found drifting in a different area, from where they were headed,  without them.  Sources at the oil company told Vanguard that their laptops and bags were found in the boat. Sources said: “Eye witnesses said they were forced out of their boat into another that took them away. The boat did not capsize. Their belongings were intact.” Another source at the oil firm confirmed to Vanguard that the MD and seven other employees were among the people kidnapped. Also, Chairman, Lagos Maritime Security Zone of the Port Facility Security Officers Forum, PFSO, Mr. Wole Gege, confirmed the incident, sa...

By Adesina Wahab When his son was offered admission by the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Ondo State, Michael Olufemi did not expect what he got as the fees to pay for sundry items. First, he had to pay N50,000 Acceptance Fee for his son, and when the university’s portal was opened for the new students to start registering, he got a bill of over N108,000. Just a couple of years ago, Grace Alade, who was admitted by the same school, paid N20,000 as Acceptance Fee and for others, she paid less than N45,000 to register as a bonafide student of the university. Things have changed. However, the increase is coming at a time that the country is experiencing stagflation, a situation described by economists as a combination of high inflation and economic stagnation. Recent government policies to kick-start the economy such as the removal of subsidy on petrol, have also worsened the economic conditions of parents.   Many tertiary institutions in the country have hiked se...

By Olu Fasan IN theory, Nigeria is a representative democracy; in practice, it is not. Unlike in a direct democracy, where people determine how they are governed by voting on policies and laws themselves, in a representative democracy, they elect those who govern them, who make policies and laws for them. However, to be truly “representative”, a democracy must have certain key characteristics. Sadly, most of these characteristics are lacking in Nigeria’s “representative democracy”. I’m particularly interested here in political competition! But what are the characteristics of a representative democracy? According to political scientists, a representative democracy has the following key characteristics: universal participation, political equality, political competition, political accountability, government transparency, majority rule, civil liberties and rule of law. Anyone who understands what each of these characteristics entails would readily admit that Nigeria’s representative democr...

  President Tinubu (middle) flanked by others at the praying ground. ...Urges them to avoid ethnic, religious rivalry President Bola Tinubu, told Nigerians to have faith in God, saying that peace, stability and prosperity will reign in the country. He tasked them to avoid ethnic, religious rivalry and ready to make sacrifices for the country's prosperity. Speaking to reporters after observing the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at Dodan Barracks prayer ground, Lagos, the President stressed the need for unity and cooperation. He said that Allah would not burden the country with what it could not bear but insisted also that Nigerians must be ready to make sacrifices for the country’s prosperity. The President in a statement by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, said:  "I thank Almighty Allah for keeping us in good health till today and pray to Him to grant us robust health and prosperity. May our sacrifices turn to prosperity. We have to make th...

*PDP cautions APC, FG over anti-people policies *Tasks Nigerians on fervent prayers over economic hardship *Tinubu’s govt lives in opulence, while Nigerians groan — LP *PDP’s envious of Tinubu’s achievements in 3 weeks — PRESIDENCY *Tinubu taking bold steps to reposition Nigeria — APC Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Labour Party, LP, accused President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress, APC, administration of implementing anti-people policies they said had made it difficult for many Nigerians to celebrate Eid-El-Kabir The PDP and LP’s criticisms, which came on a day President Tinubu clocked one month in the saddle, elicited immediate response from the Presidency, which accused the PDP of being envious of Tinubu’s achievements in three weeks, saying the president did in three weeks what the PDP could not do in 16 years. Similarly, the ruling APC urged Nigerians to continue to support President Tinubu because he is taking courageous and decisive steps to reposition Nigeria for ...

THE European Union Election Observer Mission, EU-EOM, to the 2023 general elections in Nigeria said yesterday that the polls were not transparent, neither were they inclusive as assured by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The EU Chief Observer and the head of the delegation, Barry Andrews, who stated this while presenting the mission’s final report on the election in Abuja yesterday, said the “election exposed enduring systemic weakness and, therefore, signalled a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.” Although he noted some improvements in the conduct of the election, especially the deployment of technology such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and the INEC Results Viewing Portal, IReV, Andrews lamented that the 2023 general elections did not ensure a well-run transparent and inclusive democratic process as assured by the INEC He added that public confidence and trust in INEC were ...

OPERATIVES of the Quick Intervention Squad, QIS, of the Akwa Ibom State Police command has  arrested one Gabriel Ekpiri of Ekit Itam Akpan Obong in Itu Local Government Area of the state, who sold his 9-year-old -son for N400.000.  Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr.  Odiko MacDon disclosed this in a statement, yesterday, in Uyo. MacDon also disclosed that the  state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olatoye Durosinmi on Monday decorated two Deputy Commissioners of Police serving in the Command.  He said: "The CP has condemned the action of one Gabriel Ekpiri of Ekit Itam Akpan Obong in Itu Local Government Area of the state, who sold his nine year old son for N400,000. "The CP noted that the act was barbaric and totally unacceptable. The suspect, who was arrested by the Quick Intervention Squad of the command has confessed to the crime while blaming the devil and economic hardship for his actions." Also, "The two Deputy Commissioners of Police are Baba ...

*Colleagues vow to avenge his death •Youths flee for fear of arrest •We're still investigating- Police •We'll meet to pacify Naval authorities — LG boss  FOLLOWING the murder of a Naval officer by suspected hoodlums in Idoani Community of Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, some naval officers went on a rampage in the community and vowed to avenge the murder of their colleague. Some Naval personnel reportedly invaded the community in search of the killers of their colleagues, which led to residents fleeing the area. The development has led to tension in the community as residents shut their shops and markets for fear of being arrested. Vanguard gathered that youths in the community have also fled to neighbouring communities for fear of indiscriminate arrest by the military officers. A reliable source in the community told newsmen that the naval officer mistakenly splashed water on a passenger on a motorcycle while trying to avoid some potholes on the road. He was said to h...